The present invention generally relates to reduction of airflow resistance and drag on trailers, and more particularly relates to an aerodynamic construction of gooseneck trailers.
Conventional trailers typically have been designed to be economical to build, and efficient for carrying cargo. The most economically shaped trailer configuration to produce is a rectilinear or flat sided box configuration, allowing building materials to be mass produced and assembled economically. This conventional design provides a carrying capacity suited for most cargo that is maximized by the vertical sidewalls and horizontal planes of the floor and ceiling panels of such trailers. However, such a convention design produces a significant amount of airflow resistance and drag on trailers, significantly affecting fuel efficiency of vehicles towing such trailers. As fuel prices have risen, fuel efficiency also has become a significant factor in the economics of trailer design considerations, such that fuel efficiency considerations and reduction of air flow resistance and drag on trailers can outweigh the original considerations of efficient construction and cubic capacity.
Conventional trailer homes with rounded corners are known that typically provide minimal streamlining and minimal reduction of air flow resistance and drag, and the use of vanes attached typically to the leading end of vehicles having a generally planar rear surface to redirect air flowing along the sides of the vehicle into a volume of low pressure air behind the rear surface for reducing drag are also known. However, so-called gooseneck or “fifth wheel” trailers typically having a gooseneck connection from the main body or frame of a trailer to a portion of a towing vehicle also typically have leading end configurations and vertical sidewalls presenting rectilinear corners that can significantly increase air flow resistance and drag on trailers.
It would be desirable to provide a gooseneck trailer configuration that includes a specially designed anterior or leading end body shape, starting at the front tip of the vehicle, that is formed primarily from convex contours, and splines or continuous curves, to provide an aerodynamically efficient shape. It would also be desirable to provide a gooseneck trailer configuration that includes substantially vertically oriented sidewalls that are curved from top to the bottom, with the top corners of the vertically oriented sidewalls being more closely spaced apart than bottom corners of the sidewalls, narrower than the bottom corners of the vertically oriented sidewalls, with the roof section being narrower than the floor section. It would also be desirable to provide a rear surface having an aerodynamic shape to help reduce energy lost to aerodynamic drag. The present invention meets these and other needs.